The word 世锦赛 is formed through abbreviation, condensing the four-character phrase 世界锦标赛 (world championship) into three characters: 世 represents 世界 (world), while 锦赛 is retained from 锦标赛 (championship), where 锦 historically denotes "brocade" or "splendid" but here functions as part of the fixed term for championship, and 赛 means competition.